She Has The World At Her Fingertips
by MoreRoses
Summary: Vanessa and Roy meet by chance, he's an accomplished military soldier who is rising in the ranks, and she's a cunning beautiful heiress climbing the social ladder. Can they cure each others emotional scars and still acheive their goals? And will Vanessa overcome her families secrets? Roy/OC
1. Chapter 1

Hope you like this new story, please please review, I would enjoy helpful criticism, or hearing what you like, it helps.

There are those born to work their way to greatness, others destined for a life without fame or glory, then, there are those simply born into the universe, with the world at their fingertips. These people, the rich and noble, are those lucky few, who have the money to latch onto a high place in society, the manners and grace to hoist themselves up, the attitudes and intelligence, to remain there safely.

I was not born this way, my family had to work, suffer, and climb the social ladder, until a mere coincidence landed us a spot in higher society, complete with formal affairs, beautiful friends, large homes, and blissful ignorance of the woes of the world around us.

My father made a few lucky investments, and soon tripled his income, expanded his business, and created an empire. You couldn't enter any city without seeing one of his famed wineries, or grape orchards. But, that wasn't enough. We had to move to central, away from the home where I grew up, in the middle of no where. My father invested in local businesses, bought some hotels, and now here I am, sitting in the formal dining room with my parents, older sister, and younger brother. While being carefully watched by the families new, and gossip prone butler who was just dying to see me screw up so he could call the gossip section of the newspaper and make some quick cash.

I had adjusted quite well though, so this butler would have to wait for my brother to say something obnoxious. I was young when my father made his fortune, which gave my mom the opportunity to get me schooled in the ways of etiquette, make the right friends, and learn to love the luxuries I was given.

I sat there quietly, observing, calculating. True, I had adjusted well to the life of a proper young lady, but I was left bored, and thus chose to use the intellect that very few knew I had acquired, and find new ways to rise up the social ladder, and gain the respect and awe of everyone worth caring about. I wasn't easily satisfied, but one never is, when they are constantly second best all their lives.

"Vanessa, please. You know I hate when you stare off into space like that. You will get wrinkles." My mother said calmly, as she sipped some of her champagne.

"Of course."

"So what were you scheming?" my father asked, eyebrow raised and a smirk that said he understood my thought process.

"Oh nothing of great importance. But, we have attended so many balls and events; it's just rude and inconsiderate that we haven't hosted anything as of late." I said, with a smirk of my own while I pushed a loose strand of black hair behind my ear.

"She's right! I won't stand to have Leon thinking that I can't properly host a party!" my sister, Brittany exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes, Leon being the son of the wealthiest man in town, next to the Fuhrer of course. Though marriage was a common practice to gain social standing or move up in the eyes of society, it was a practice I found utterly stupid and foolish. It was brainless, and way to simple, in other words, not my type of fun.

I became bored after this, allowing my parents and sister to begin the planning. I had planted the seed, now to sit back and watch it grow.

"I'm afraid that today's shopping trip wore me out, ill just retire early. See you all in the morning." I said, excusing myself, mentally slapping myself at how rude I appeared to the butler. Oh well, this wasn't the sort of thing that would interest a gossip column.

I made my way to my room, and sighed as I leaned against the door after shutting it. while I did enjoy the game of manipulation and social climbing, I could easily do without the etiquette and stuffiness.

I walked across the room and got ready for bed, and caught sit of my reflection. thick long black hair that just reached my elbows, dark blue eyes that turned slightly up at the outer corners, small mouth, lightly tanned skin, and a small face with a strong jaw. The overall effect creating a face that could easily feign shyness, stare down an opponent, or seduce with a catlike gaze. I wasn't the traditional beauty of the times, but I was a different type of beauty. I knew, because of all the invitations for strolls in the park, offers to dance at balls, and the stares I would receive. I was not vain in any case, but I knew what I had, and I knew how to use it. If flirting with the owner of a competing hotel would help me aid my father in crushing the competition, then I would gladly do so.

The next day I would water the seed, and make my father aware of the need to make it a ball honoring the military and current achievements, especially when regarding the state alchemists. It was always good to get the military on your side, especially when the military governed nearly everything, and when you never knew who would attempt to kidnap you for ransom.

But I had planned enough for one day, it was time to sleep, and dream of a nicer things, and prettier days, when I didn't need to maintain appearances to keep friends, when I didn't require a new dress everyday and be forced to stand in a small room with too many candles getting fitted for a dress. Those days may be far behind me, but it didn't hurt to relish their memories in my dreams.

YAY! Chapter one is done. It was short but the next chapters wont be. Vanessa is a much more complex character than my usual ones, and though this chapter highlighted her flaws. (her vindictive, methodical, manipulative side,) her positive traits are there, waiting to be seen in the next chapter. PLEASE REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

I awoke the next day, rather happily and calmly. I had dreamt of days when we spent our Sundays by the lake and Joseph, my little brother and I would collect shiny pebbles and snail shells to present to our parents. Our old, humble home had been covered in them, my mother had treasured them.

But those were silly times, now our Sundays consisted of visiting and receiving guests and attending teas while Joseph was tutored, and father tended to his business empire.

Today was not that day, it was a Monday and I needed to work out my plans with mother. I slipped into a simple sky blue sun dress, the ended at the bottom of my knees, and had a robin's egg blue lace bodice. I swept my long hair over my left shoulder and wore white leather flats and went to see my mother.

I was calm, and collected. I was 20 as of last month, and was of the right age to be planning these types of events. But, this also meant I was of marrying age and needed to find a suitable husband. But I had time, plenty of it and plenty of options. I would not leave my family until we had the proper reputation and wealth needed to secure our place in central.

I found my mother in the front parlor curled up on the couch next to an unlit fireplace reading.

"Mother?" I said quietly, my hands clasped in front of me.

She looked up, coughed and sat strait up with a sheepish smile.

"Vanessa, here to help plan the party?" she asked, patting the chair across from her.

I sat down and smoothed out my dress, noticing that Brittany was no where to be seen.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that. Where is Brittany?"

"She and Leon went for brunch at a new café on the main street. I think they fancy each other." She said with a dreamy smile.

"I'm sure they do. Anyways, on with important matters. The guest list must be decided on first. It's of upmost importance we invite as many high ranking army officials as we can. The military ball is in a month and we have to be invited." I said, crossing my ankles and observing my mother.

"I suppose so, but I'm not sure I want to have rowdy military men in my home."

"Mother, I highly doubt they lack the decorum for a social event like ours. Otherwise they wouldn't host their annual military ball. Anyways, I will be in charge of the guest list. I will leave everything else up to you and the planner. Since its summer we should stick with greens, whites, and soft lavenders for the color scheme though."

"Sounds manageable. You always have had very good ideas."

"Thank you, I will go get started. Oh, and have you chosen a date?"

"Yes, next Saturday." She said, eyeing her book which I took as my cue to leave her in peace.

The week after that had been rather hectic. We had to send out invitations, wait for rsvp's, prepare the ballroom, get fitted for gowns, find a florist, and so many other things. Normally an even of this magnitude required months of planning, or two weeks, but mother was impatient, as was I, so the sooner the better.

The night of the ball, it was impossible to tell if I was on edge. My hair was curled and in a loose bun, with single ringlets around my face, I was in a lavender chiffon dress with a small train, the band right beneath my bosom, the band consisting of an elegant string of pearls. I wore simple pearl studs, and kept my makeup light, with only a little rouge and mascara. I wore silver, pearl studded heels that clacked as I walked.

I had begun to descend the stairs, my right hand on the railing, my body slightly turned towards it, as I gently placed each foot on the steps, as I had been trained to do. The staircase led into the ballroom, which was alive with soft candle light, as the guest danced and twirled around on the white marble floors, with massive columns surrounding the dance floor. Flowers encircled said columns, and waiters carefully maneuvered around people with trays of champagne and wine.

I was well aware of the many eyes following me as I descended the stairs. Once I reached the floor I graciously smiled at everyone and made my way to familiar faces.

"Vanessa! You look gorgeous, as always." One of my, 'friends' said, eyeing my simple ensemble.

"Thank you Clarissa, you look stunning." This was mostly true. She was an attractive girl, her light blonde hair pulled into a tight bun, her grey eyes searching for a flaw in anything she could see. Her dress was gaudy at most. It was a rose petal pink ball gown that was so wide it was quite impossible to kiss her cheeks or dance with a partner, and the giant white rose at the top of the bodice overwhelmed her small frame.

I didn't feel cruel for my critical view of her, I was quite sure she had a few nasty quips about my outfit in her mind. It was the same with all the girls I begun to speak with. It was the way of the crowd. Be polite, be kind, and keep your true intentions inside. Everyone was trying to impress each other, everyone attempting to be the 'it' girl, or it couple, or the family.

"I see quite a lot of military personnel, is this by any chance your father sending out a message of deciding to join?" Said Emily, a brown eyed beauty (in a too tight blue gown) said coyly.

"No, he simply felt that the military had been getting quite a bit of bad press lately and decided to help out." I lied, sipping a flute of champagne I took from a passing waiter.

"I see, that makes sense." She said nodding.

"My, if it isn't the full metal alchemist, your mother really went all out with that guest list I see." I heard Clarissa mumble.

I followed her gaze and saw a short blonde, his long hair in a braid, as he shifted uncomfortably by a column, watching everyone. He kept his hands in the pockets of a black tux that didn't seem, well, right on him. Then, a man, with hair black as coal, and light ivory skin in a fitted tux that made him look very regal approached him. I watched their small exchange, when the man looked up, and into my eyes.

The proper thing to do would be to look down and wait for him to approach, but I knew who he was, and the infamous Roy Mustang didn't stand on principles. I knew who he was of course, I did invite him. It was well known he was trying to become Fhurer, and from what I could tell he was the only person qualified. It would be good to be on his good side should this happen. I also knew of his reputation for being, well, overly confident.

We stared each other down, when I winked playfully and turned to the girls who all looked at me knowingly.

"Careful who you flirt with Nessa, one wrong move and you would be lower on the food chain than Patricia." One of the girls said, and we all looked at a small, angry looking girl leaning against a column, looking as though she would rather be anywhere than there. Her silver dress, though stunning, overwhelmed her currently. But should she smile and stand strait, I might have to worry about some real competition.

Before I could say anything, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned, to see mustang right behind me, a smirk on his face and hand extended, "would it be possible to dance with the lovely miss. Brownwell?" he said, bowing slightly at the waist.

I smiled in return and placed my hand in his and replied, "I suppose it can be done." And with those words, I unknowingly veered off of the path I had been so carefully paved for myself and my family, and was now swimming, in uncharted waters.

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	3. Chapter 3

The night had been a great success! I knew that there would be mention in the papers about the extravagance, and I was so proud of my mother. She was still adjusting to this new social scene, but last night managed us an invitation to a high tea at Clarissa's home, hosted by her mother of course.

I would have patted myself on the back were my maid not helping me out of my dress and into a suitable nightgown.

But, there was something nagging me in the back of my mind, as I slid into bed and my maid rushed out, something that caused my heart to flutter and a smile to slip out. I smirked as I recalled the night's events after being escorted to the dance floor by Roy.

FLASHBACK

I carefully lifted the front of my dress with my left hand as I held my hand firmly in Roy's as we made our way into the center of the room, which was immersed with the other couples and friendly acquaintances dancing.

We stopped and stepped close together, his hand on my lower back, the other holding my extended hand as I dropped the light dress material to place a manicured hand on his shoulder. We begun to dance and swirl in time with the music, our eyes observing each other.

When I had imagined Mustang, and using what everyone had told me, I had imagined somebody with less decorum, and slightly more, humble in appearance. But here before me was a man of dignity and dashing good looks. Though his eyes hinted at a sly, cunning personality. Which, I could easily relate to.

"Well, had I known I would be dancing with somebody of such high ranks, I would have worn a more elegant ensemble." I said coyly, cocking my head to the side.

"I could say the same to you, but I must say you look outstanding tonight." He replied, twirling me in a tight circle.

"Oh please, you just might make me blush. So, I hear you are striving to become the Fhurer, is that going well?" I said, attempting to find if keeping him as a close family acquaintance would be beneficial.

"I didn't realize that my goals were so publicized, but yes, I do wish to climb the ranks, and I seem to have a few, advantages." He said advantages with a sly wink as he pulled me a bit closer.

ROYS POV

I had indeed lucked out, here I was dancing with the one woman who had the connections, and, assets to create more allow me powerful alliances. Luckily it didn't seem like a difficult task.

I had become intrigued when I received the invitation, and was even more interested when I saw that the daughter, who wasn't currently spoken for, was easy on the eyes.

It was a win win situation. If I couldn't get her fathers aid in becoming Fhurer, I would at least be able to have fun and meet others who were willing to do so. The whole ballroom was crawling with wealthy citizens eager to be chummy with a possible Fhurer.

Now, the only thing to do was meet her father and secure another powerful alliance. And hopefully do this, before the Fhurer made his grand entrance.

"You didn't answer my question Mustang."

I looked down confused into the sharp eyes of Vanessa Brownwell, my ticket to power.

"I asked if you would be interested in meeting my father. I know he would be very excited to meet the man who might one day be the top dog." She said, with a sly smile that seemed to hold many secrets.

"Of course, lead the way." I replied, amazed at how quickly my plan had worked out.

I watched her smile, and turn holding my arm in hers as she guided me through the crowds. I wouldn't lie to myself, she was very attractive, and I was very, comfortable having her body pressed against mine during the steady parts of the dance. She had an attractive face, and the dress she wore hugged her figure perfectly. The curls in her hair bounced as she walked, I would have to invite her out sometime.

VANESSA'S POV

I was elated, now father only had to go and win Mustang over, invite him over for some tea or whatnot, and then we could count on his support should he indeed achieve his goal.

But I was definitely surprised; I had not been expecting somebody as young, and attractive as the man whose arm fit perfectly in mine.

"Father, I would like you to meet, Roy mustang." I winked at my father, signaling a good financial, social acquaintance and watched his eyes widen, then return to normal. I had gotten most of my looks from him. He was a tall, strong built man with dark skin and slicked back black hair and strong features. Though my eyes came from my mother, whom I only bore a small resemblance to unlike Brittany who could be her sister rather than daughter.

I swiftly made my leave, hoping for the best. I knew full well he needed the right connections if he ever wanted to make Fhurer, and I also knew up until now, he had been doing quite the opposite, making enemies everywhere. So, if I were to help him out now, he would owe me later. And that was how I intended to keep things.

But, it would be very difficult to maintain a platonic relationship, if he continued to maintain a suave, power holding appearance complemented with a darkly handsome look, and gaze into my eyes as if he understood my need for power. The way our bodies molded together on the dance floor as though carved carefully for one another, was enough to make any other weak minded girl faint. Thank goodness I was not weak minded.

END FLASHBACK

I snuggled into my comfortable sheets, and rubbed my cheek softly against the satin pillow case. Already planning what to do tomorrow, and how I would charm Mustang, since he had hinted to my father he had intentions of dropping by tomorrow. The day when the most classy and respectable women would receive guests and refrain from anything that required much effort. Though, I do admit these days often left me bored, and with a pounding headache. But I knew better than to not receive guests. It was socially unacceptable, and it was very easy to make new, 'friends' and plan outings a get togethers that would maintain said friendships.

Deep in my mind I knew somehow, that tomorrow would not be like most Sundays. In fact, if I were a man, or a common woman, id place a bet on that.


	4. Chapter 4

A proper, well groomed young lady o society must always maintain the appearance of contentment, or joy. Anything less would simply be intolerable, seeing a true lady is always happy and grateful, and prepared to spread her happiness everywhere she went.

I was currently in a position requiring subtle happiness and modesty, with a dash of flattered. Roy did indeed keep his promise to visit on Sunday around noon. I was prepared, with light pink lipstick and mascara enhancing my feminine features with a simple side part in my hair which framed my face and brought out my bone structure. In an admittedly childish attempt to show up Clarissa I chose a rose petal pink dress with a low square neckline and thick straps, that hugged my body and showed off my thin waist. The lower half could be described as a pencil skirt that stopped just above my knees. This along with dark brown leather heels created an air of sophistication, but without a doubt, sex appeal. This was required for my current mission.

After he was finished with greeting my mother and father, I found myself walking arms linked, with Roy through the more attractive part of town.

"Anything of interest going on in the military these days?" I questioned bored, thinking up something to stir things up and create some excitement.

His eyes lit as though laughing internally at an inside joke, which did indeed peek my curiosity, just what lurked behind this uptight military façade?

"Nothing in particular, just the usual paperwork and such." He said with a playful wink in my direction.

I rolled my eyes at what I assumed was a false statement. I had never been one for beating around the bush for too long, and I liked to tailor my plans for the person I was dealing with. For Roy, a direct approach seemed best. So I led him to a quaint little café I frequented with friends sometimes, and took a table. Once we had ordered our drinks and the waitress sauntered away, I leaned forward and propped my elbows on the table and rested my chin in my hands, knowing my eyes were very persuasive at this angle, and knew the light was hitting me just right.

"I'm bored with playing games, time to cut right to the chase. Neither of us are interested in small talk or flattery. You need me and my connections to become Fhurer, and I need you and your position, and possibly future power to gain more social standing and respect in this town. But, this cant just happen, it needs to be planned out and agreed upon. You don't understand the workings up the upper-class and need me to teach you how to mingle and negotiate like a gentleman, and I simply need you, owe me some favors, and get my family into the military ball and other such events. I think we can work together well, your military training should aid you in this." I finished with a wink, and sat back in my chair as the waitress returned and put our drinks down, desperately trying to get Roy's attention.

ROYS POV

I had honestly never been as shocked before as I was now. This little debutante, had pretty much read my mind, though I had been attempting to use her for my gain, she had been doing the same to me. I couldn't help but grimace at this unattractive side of her. While a passionate, goal oriented woman was valuable, a conniving manipulative one didn't appear as attractive.

I hadn't thought about some of what she said, negotiating with the upper-class and such, and I grimaced once again when I remembered others telling me I was too callous and strait forward.

I also came to another realization, I had spoken with her father, and though intelligent, it was quite apparent he didn't have the mind for takeovers, and the vicious side of business. But, his daughter who was sitting across from me, smirking as she sipped from a crystal glass, was cunning enough to plot such hostile takeovers as the one last week where he ran another hotel out of business and bought it for nothing, then converting it into an apartment building. It had been genius, and the woman in front of me was definitely responsible. Even though I had been repulsed by such cruelty, I had to admit I was slightly in awe.

And, she had led us to a place where she was in charge. This was an area she was more familiar with than I, she had chosen the place, and led the conversation. She was in control, and this was not going to bode well. But for now, it would be beneficial to keep things friendly. So I was just going to sit back, and negotiate with this cunning, attractive, ruthless heiress and try to come out alive.

VANESSAS POV

I smiled as Roy leaned forward on the table, mimicking my earlier position, and couldn't help but notice the sun reflection of his hair and noting the masculine, freshly shaved jaw.

"What did you have in mind?"

"I wasn't quite sure, in this society, most alliances of this nature are secured by engagements and marriage, but I'm sure neither of us is interested in that."

He nodded and picked up his coffee and drank, eyeing me the entire time.

"Well, we could work along those lines." He suggested, as I raised an eyebrow.

"And what do you mean by that?"

"Courtship, obvious courting at that. People will assume that we have a relationship, it will be acceptable for us to be seen in public together, and as such it will be necessary for me to, "bond" with your father, and friends, and people would expect you to be at balls and military gatherings by my side. Simple as that, and since we wont be bound by anything, once we achieve our goals we can part ways." He said, without ever looking away.

The plan was indeed brilliant, and I could see it working.

"Well, then I think we have a deal Mustang, But I must depart, I agreed to a luncheon with some friends. " I stood up and straitened out my skirt, tossing my hair over my shoulder. I dropped some money on the table and walked away, with a confused Roy mustang watching me leave.

I walked briskly, knowing Clarissa wouldn't hesitate to bad mouth me in my absence should I be late.

A cold breeze blew from the north and sent my hair flying, and caused me to lose my balance. I placed my hand on the side of a building to catch myself.

"Well that's odd; the wind around here is usually warm." I murmured, pushing off the building and walking once again. I had just passed a pet shop when a hand grabbed my arm and yanked me into an alley, covering my mouth as I tried to scream.

"Keep your mouth shut and I won't kill you, human!"

And just when I thought my day was oh so promising.

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	5. Chapter 5

SORRY I TOOK SO LONG! DIDN'T FEEL LIKE WRITING….YEAH….ATLEAST IM HONEST! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

"Did you hear me? Keep quiet or that pretty face of yours won't be so pretty." The voice hissed in my ears, while I strongly resisted the urge to roll my ears. Where had I heard that line before? Oh yeah, every sappy romance novel where the heroin is kidnapped and has the same thing said to her. Where was the originality?

I nodded and felt the hand, which smelled like dust and metal remove itself, and I turned around and glared at my captor.

He was fairly tall, with wild dark, green-ish hair, and though the face was masculine, and the body had no feminine curves, I was confused, the outfit was female, a skirt and shirt that exposed the stomach and the voice was more on the feminine side.

"Who do you think you are?" I said, hands on my hips, watching him closely.

"I'm envy, and I already know who you are."

"Good for you, you've heard about me in the papers. What do you want? A ransom? Fine, how much, ill get my checkbook later." I said, tossing my hair over my shoulder, already bored. This person had no weapons, and if I screamed help would come before he could do any real harm.

"Pathetic human, not everything is about money." He said, with a hauntingly creepy grin.

But this still wasn't enough to faze me.

"Listen, envy, I'm sure you have a legitimate reason for this, and I hope you enjoyed this conversation, but I have things to do, things to by, and important people to meet." I smiled cruelly and tried to walk past him when he grabbed my arm and threw me against the wall, as I cried out in pain.

My eyes were watery, and I gasped when I tried to touch my arm. I sniffed and looked up angrily when I saw envy's menacing form standing above me, grinning.

"You bastard!" I cried, kicking wildly, wincing.

He glared and kicked my leg, and I whimpered.

"Shut up human!" he growled.

"Why are you doing this! If it's not for money then what? And why do you keep saying human? Aren't you human too moron?" I hissed, curling up in a ball, sending him my darkest glare reserved for competing business owners.

He walked closer and kneeled down in front of me, grinning maniacally, as I tried not to shudder or look away from his eyes.

"Silly girl. Do you know where your brother is right now?" he said, smiling as my face displayed a look of disbelief.

"Joseph?" he had left two days before the party for some military mission. He never spoke about why he had to go; in fact, he rarely spoke of his job at all. Whenever I would bring it up he would laugh and mess up my hair, with some sort of cryptic message.

"No, but neither do you!" I said haughtily, looking at his forehead and away. I had heard some considered it insulting, and I wasn't finished risking my life, yet.

"Well, he has been prying into matters he shouldn't be. So, since he is annoying me, I think ill, "annoy" him back. And this is where you come in." he said, twirling a piece of my hair in his fingers.

I pulled my head back and snarled at him, how dare he touch me!

"Well I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about. If you let me go I wont report this incident." I said, my eyes still watering over what I was assuming to be a sprained arm, and possible concussion.

"Are all humans this incredibly stupid? Well, this has been fun, time to end it."

"What are you.." I couldn't finish because suddenly everything was black.

ROYS POV

I had left confused, and arrived at the bar annoyed. Who did that brat think she was? An image of her, leaning provocatively on the table, her eyes looking up at me. the way they turned up on the outer edges, and the way her hair swayed in the wind.

I shook my head and demanded a drink. She was beautiful, no point in denying it, but her conniving manipulative attitude meant trouble, and that was something I was attempting to avoid.

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking your life away?" I heard. I looked behind me and saw Elric smirking, his brother no where in sight.

"Ah, Elric, I almost didn't hear you. I should get you a ladder so maybe you could reach my ear and I could hear you."

"How many of those have you had?" he said, twitching and pulling up a seat beside me, getting a juice.

"None of your business."

"Al saw you having drinks with that girl from the ball, id be careful if I were you."

"And why should I be careful?" I said, smirking knowing he didn't even know the half of it.

"I hear she takes after her father, she's a shark. And power hungry, also has a pretty big ego."

"And the bad part?" I said, swirling around the liquid in my glass, signaling to the bartender I needed a refill.

"I suppose she is the girl version of you, figures." He said, gulping down his entire glass.

"Well, as much fun as this is, I don't feel up to playing babysitter." I slid off the stool and made my way to the door, but turned around and said, "I hear milk helps you grow. Maybe you should try it."

VANESSAS POV

I awoke sometime later, with a pain in my head, my arm felt like it was broken, and I was cold. Overall, not a happy moment, and I don't like pain, I don't like being in pain, and I don't like being in pain and cold at the same time.

"When I get out of here, I'm going to have to murder Joseph. Unless Envy got to him first."

And with that, I couldn't help but to let a tear fall from my as I wondered, would I make it out alive?


	6. Chapter 6

I pushed myself up and looked around; the room I was in was desolate and drab. One window, and one small, very unstable looking wooden chair, and a tattered yet elegant rug were what surrounded the bed I had been carelessly left on. They didn't even leave me a pillow, how rude of them. The room itself was also very small, the floors were of a dark wood and the walls were an off white color with cracks in the paint. It was as though this room had been abandoned and forgotten, the thought of which made my stomach churn uneasily.

I stretched quickly and harshly wiped the lone tear that had started to fall down my cheek, such moments of weakness had no place in this cruel and demented world. I was incredibly sore but forced myself to get up and make my way to the window. When I looked down I saw my dress was simply a wreck, filled with wrinkles and looked very unbecoming. I straightened it out and adjusted it, happy that it was made of a sturdy fabric. I reached the window and looked out to see the sun setting, surrounded by shades of orange and pinks, contrasting with the small yet menacingly dark green forest in the near distance. Just where was I? How was I going to get myself out of here?

ROYS POV

This was not good, not good at all and I was not in the mood. All day calls were coming in with alleged sightings of the missing heiress who had gone missing just one day ago. The day she went missing I had watched her walk away, hips swaying and hair blowing in the breeze while I felt nothing but mistrust and some gratitude.

Her family had been noisily causing chaos in persute of their missing daughter, announcing a handsome reward for whoever was able to find her. Luckily I didn't have to directly deal with anything, but since I had been the last to see her the Fhurer thought it would be prudent to have me watch over the case. Somehow, I couldn't understand why this was considered to be military jurisdiction. Especially alchemist jurisdiction, there were lower level officers who were often the ones in charge of these sort of mishaps, so why was it in my hands? Just what did the Fhurer know about the kidnapping to make him believe it couldn't be handled by the lower officers?

I was interrupted when havoc opened the door and loudly stomped over to my desk, a look of determination in his eyes. He had no doubt seen her photo and wanted to earn her gratitude, a thought that caused a smirk to appear.

"mustang, I got a tip from a man who owns a small pet shop near where she was last seen. He saw her lose her balance by his store, and thinks he saw somebody grab her into an alley. He didn't seem to think much of it until he recognized the heiress on some posters."

"Send a group of officers over there to check out the alley he saw her in."

"Well since the information seemed reliable I did that already and questioned the shop owner myself. But things get a little weird during the interview, he says that when he went outside about a minute or two later to adjust something, he heard a small commotion in the alley way so he went to check on it in case the girl was in trouble, he didn't see anybody but there was a trashcan knocked over and he says he almost swears he saw the girl in some bodies arms. But the thing is, the person holding her apparently jumped to the top of a building and took off. He thought he imagined the whole thing and that's why it too so long for him to call in a tip." Havoc said, shifting from one foot to the other.

I felt my blood run cold right then and there. "Did you manage to get a description of the kidnapper?" I asked, keeping my voice under control, maintaining a façade of calmness.

"He said it had long hair, was wearing a strange, revealing outfit, very pale, and strange tattoos. Other than that he couldn't get very specific." He said, looking down and reading off of the paper he had in his hands.

"Get fullmetal in here." I demanded.

"Is something wrong?"

"Just get him in here now havoc." I said, my eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"Aye aye sir." And with that he rushed out as I leaned back into my chair and sighed. If what I was thinking was correct, then it was most likely homunculi who had her. But why would they care about her? I doubted they were interested in money, and other than the ball her family had no real connections with the military. Just what was going on these days?

VANESSAS POV

I had paced back in forth in my, well, what some may consider to be a room, from sunset until the moon was high in the sky. I walked over to the window again and looked around. There was not much of a drop from here to the ground, but the rows of holly bushes, with their sharp leaves and imposing height would cause a fair bit of pain. We had those at our front gates to deter robbers. The door at the other end of my room may look frail and dusty, ready to collapse at any moment, but after countless minutes of shoving and pounding and trying to break the lock, it was apparent that my escape through there was impossible.

I ran my fingers through my hair, exhaling loudly and unhappily. Sure I could just jump out my window and try to recover, but where would I go? The woods were almost out of the question. Wild animals and thieves could be roaming around just waiting for an easy target. I wasn't sure which direction I could go because from where I was I couldn't see any roads, just a small empty field and a forest, I was obviously in the back of the house.

But I was a Brownwell. We did not sit around a sulk, waiting for things to happen. We made things happen, and if we didn't succeed we would always look for better options. It was how we worked. So I walked over to the small chair, put it on its side and slammed my foot down onto the weak legs. One fell off and I grabbed it off the ground, weighing it in my hand. The wood itself was incredibly sturdy and could hold its own, but the person who put it together obviously had no idea how to work with it and just nailed it together with whatever he could find. Idiot.

I walked over to the window with determination in my eyes, and with one blow, slammed the leg of the chair into the window, only for the window to remain in tact, as well as have a shock of pain run through my arms and I got a splinter in my thumb. I sucked on my thumb until it came out, took a deep breathe and thought it over. The glass was thicker than I had imagined it to be. So I grabbed the remains of the chair and bashed it against the glass, managing to break it. I used the broken leg to get rid of the shards of glass that had remained until all the glass was gone. I climbed up the ledge, hearing a murmering noise come from the other side of the door. I sucked in some air and leaned forward, pushing myself off the ledge. I felt the cold air hit me and tensed up. I landed harshly in the bushes and could feel the scratches on my exposed skin. I had landed on my side, and forced myself to roll out of the bush. Some of the glass had fallen into the bushes and I proceeded to pull out the three pieces which had lodged themselves into my arms.

I wobbled to the front of the house, after kicking off my shoes, and stood there in shock. We were on the outskirts of central, this was a small suburban street, and when I made my way to the front yard, I saw a for sale sign by the sidewalk. I felt dizzy, and my arm felt cold. I looked down to see blood coating my entire arm and took a few more steps forward, until my vision became spotty, and I collapsed to my knees. I forced myself to look up to find people, but the street was empty. I pulled myself to the sidewalk, feeling colder by the minute, as my hearing became fuzzy. I looked up to see a light coming my way, I opened my mouth to call out, but nothing happened. Finally my legs collapsed from under me, and I fell into darkness once again.

FINALLY DONE! PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISM IS APPRECIATED, TELL ME WHAT U LIKE, AND JUST WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT WOULD BE NICE. HOPE YOU LIKE IT!


	7. Chapter 7

PLEASE REVIEW! IM ONLY UPDATING THIS QUICKLY BECAUSE I GOT A REVIEW! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE IF YOU LIKE THE STORY REVIEW! PLEASE AND THANKYOU MY AWESOME READERS!

Bleep. Bleep. Bleep.

"How is she doing?"

"She's stable now, small blood loss, her wrist is broken and she had a slight concussion but its not a problem at this point, shes almost completely recovered it seems."

What's going on?

"Any idea when she will wake up?"

"She's woken up a few times throughout the night but never long enough to be truly conscious of what was going on. But she should wake up soon; there really wasn't all that much head damage."

"Thank you very much."

"If you have any more questions ill be right down the hall to the left." I could practically hear a lovesick grin in that supposedly helpful, innocent statement.

Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.

The girl voice left, I knew the other voice but was having some difficulty placing where I knew it from. I heard a chair slide and somebody sat down with a deep sigh, they were close to me, to my bed, I think it was a bed I was in at the moment.

I forced myself to open my eyes, and it really wasn't easy. It was like there was super glue holding my eyelids together, plus the second I opened them just slightly, I was overwhelmed with too much light pouring in, although it seemed to be all around me.

"Vanessa?" somebody asked, from somewhere in the room.

I struggled to turn my head, it was really fuzzy and I still couldn't see very clearly, but there was the outline of a person right next to me, and all the walls were an annoying shade of blinding white. I opened my mouth, or at least I think I did but nothing managed to come out like I was hoping. What was going on? Where am I?

My vision finally kicked in and there I saw Mustang sitting next to me, eyeing me with mixed emotions. I picked out confusion, frustration, tired, and, worry? Why would he worry about me? I know he hates my guts for cornering him before my kidnapping, not many men can appreciate a woman with a good head on her shoulders and the guts to put it to good use rather than hide it.

"Roy?" I managed to croak out, surprised at the raspy noise that came out as I reached over to him, feeling very, very vulnerable at the moment.

He put his hand over my hand and grimaced. "Do you remember anything that happened before you lost consciousness?"

I thought back, I could remember lights, there was the distinct scent of grass, and I remembered broken glass and being in an empty room. My head was starting to spin but slowly things were coming to me and I didn't want it to end so I bit down on my lower lip and continued trying to remember everything that happened.

"He wasn't human." I managed to get out, as Roy handed me a glass of water.

"How do you know?" he asked, leaning forward, his face deadly serious without the familiar glint of something unknown in his eyes.

"He said so, and the power he had, there was no way he was a human. He was upset with my brother, and he kept me in an empty room."

"Your brother?" he asked, eyes widening.

"Yeah, my brother does work with the military, he does a lot of research for them and recently he went on some sort of trip. Normally he just runs a few of the local pharmacies he acquired in a nearby town, but hell occasionally help out the military, trying to play nice." I told him after taking a deep, appreciative drink of water; never ha I thought I would treasure the tasteless, clear liquid to this extent.

Roy leaned back into his seat, a grave look on his face.

"Your not to be alone for the next few weeks, once we contact your brother you may need to have some military supervision. The one who kidnapped you, what did he look like?"

"He was tall, dressed kinda like a girl, he had wild long hair, with a green tint but it wasn't totally green. He had some funky tattoos and kept calling me stupid and a human. You know what he was? I have a feeling you know something with that look on your face." finally I was thinking clearly, I wasn't enjoying that fuzzy know nothing moment.

"Yes, he was, is, a homunculi. A being created through alchemy. That's all I can say other than there are others and all are very dangerous, you will need to be careful and never go anywhere without a chaperone."

"Why don't you watch over me?" I questioned, hoisting myself up and leaning into the pillow, lilting my head back so my face was in the light.

He looked up at me with an annoyed look.

"Well if your courting me it only makes sense for you to try and valiantly protect me, it's the romantic, gentlemanly thing to do you know. Plus, you're an alchemist and if this isn't a human and is as dangerous as you say, I would truthfully be a lot more comfortable with you there." The last part I hadn't meant to say, what had these people drugged me with? I was being so needy, I did not like it in the least. Hopefully Roy didn't really buy it.

ROY

I was surprised with her admitting she was comfortable with me, and it really wouldn't be too bad. At the ball she had been rather good company, and this vulnerability right here was making me suspect she wasn't as cold and vindictive as she liked to let on, and I was curious to see if this was an act or if she was more than a cold hearted witch.

VANESSAS, a few days later.

I had been released from my captivity in the drug happy hospital and had been home on bed rest for three days, and today I was to be let out, for a walk in the park with Roy. My mother was happy with this possible match, any mother would be I think, especially after the way he had charmed her.

I slipped carefully into a mint green button down silk blouse that hugged my curves and accentuating my waist, which wasn't the thinnest in the land, but accentuating the waist made my hips look bigger. I preferred a more curvy appearance. I wore a soft cotton skirt that went to about 2 inches above the knee that swirled when I moved. I wore some 2 inch white patent leather heals to match. My hair was left down and I wore only some rouge and coral lipstick with mascara, in the mirror I had an exotic, simply beauty appearance which was what I had been going for. I preferred this to most of my outfits since it was less rigid but sometimes the tailored look made a better statement.

I heard the doorbell and casually made my way to the door to see my father and Roy discussing something, and coughed quietly to get their attention. Roy gave an appreciative once over that he was lucky my father didn't see, and my father merely grinned and walked over, patted my head and told me to have fun. Ah, the beauty of an overly trusting father. When I had gotten back he refused to talk about my absence, he didn't handle emotions or drama well and he thought it would help me to pretend it didn't happen. Too bad that didn't stop the nightmares.

Roy and I made it to the park after a comfortable silence in his automobile, we didn't need to talk, we were both in deep thought it seemed.

When we got there I couldn't help but breathe in deeply the scent of flowers and nature, and looked around serenely.

"You look happy." Roy remarked, smirking down at me with the sun lighting the space around him.

"Believe it or not I can appreciate the beauty of nature, I wasn't always wealthy." I said, linking my arm with him, feeling a surge of comfort and warmth fill me as I looked up to give him a smirk of my own.

"Never said you didn't like nature, somebody is touchy about being judged." He said, continuing the gaze game we seemed to have started in the middle of a near empty stone path.

"I'm not touchy; I just don't appreciate passive aggressive judgment." I sniffed.

"Sure you're not." He said looking back at the nature around us, still smirking.

I was about to retort, when there it was, the most ungodly creature to ever set foot on the earth. I felt chills go up my spine and my body went completely rigid. Why today, why on earth now did I have to encounter one?

ROYS POV

I could feel Vanessa's grip tighten suddenly, and I looked down, to see her looking completely composed, but her jaw was clenched, and her eyes kept shifting nervously over to the Childs party a few meters away as she breathed quickly.

I looked over at the childs party, looked at where her eyes were, looked back at the absolute terror she was in, and couldn't help it.

VANESSAS POV

Out of no where Roy began to laugh, a loud barking laugh that sent shivers through my body.

"What is so funny may I ask?" still feeling the terror.

"You're afraid of clowns?"

PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU WANNA FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! BWAHAHAHA Don't you like her new found vulnerability?


	8. Chapter 8

Thankyou so much to animefreak and Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for the reviews! And yes, Nessa is a snob, but there's a reason that will slowly be explained in due time. Plus I can't make her super perfect so yeah. LETS GET TWO MORE REVIEWS PEOPLE! TELL ME WHAT YOU LIKE, WHAT YOU HATE, YOUR IDEAS, EVEN JUST TO TELL ME YOU LIKE THE STORY, ILL BE TOTALLY GREATFUL! ENJOY MY CHILDREN!

"Would you please, shut up." I growled, gripping his arm as tightly as I could to get him to stop laughing. The deep throaty laugh would normally make me have Goosebumps but nobody laughs at my expense, not now, not ever again, ever, again.

"Clowns? Honestly Vanessa, I would think a refined woman such as you would be above that. Spiders, yes I can see that but clowns?" he said, voiced laced with sarcasm. And with that he laughed even louder until I stomped down hard on his foot, causing him to his in pain.

I dragged him over to a bench so he could nurse his wounded foot, which would never had happened had he simply understood that clowns are evil destructive creatures lurking around under the façade of happiness and joy.

"That wasn't necessary you harpy." He said, aggressively wiping the dirt off of his shoe.

"You'll get over it." I said, arms crossed as I leaned against the back of the bench, taking in the warm sunshine and listening cautiously as the children laughed at the nearby clowns antics.

"Well, now you know my fear, what's yours?" I asked, examining my nails, noticing a chip in my normally immaculate light pink nail polish.

"That is none of your concern." He said, reclining on the bench, grinning at a small child who was chasing a small red ball which rolled over to my foot.

I bent down to pick it up, and wiped off the dirt as the child slowly walked up, blushing.

"I believe this is yours." I said, smiling pleasantly at the boy as I extended my arm with the ball, he reminded me of my brother at his age, and couldn't contain the warmth inside me from showing in my normally composed expression.

"Thank you miss." He said, grinning, exposing a missing tooth.

He turned around and ran back to the party as I watched him, a faraway look on my face.

*flashback.*

"Joseph! Come back here!" cried a small girl with messy black hair in a tattered green dress as she chased after a younger boy who was clutching a yellow ball to his chest as he ran as fast as his little legs would carry him.

"Never! Its mine now!" he cried determinedly, a small lisp in his voice from the two missing front teeth.

"It doesn't belong to you, we will get in trouble!" the girl cried desperately, finally catching up to him and snatching the ball from him, tears running down her face.

"They were being mean to you and took your hair ribbon so I took their ball. Its only fair!" he yelled with the logic that made sense to a child of 5.

"They weren't being mean, and they can have my ribbon, they're my friends." She said, unconsciously running her fingers through her hair which had been tied back in a long braid.

The boy pouted, sighed, and then turned back to where there stood a very small, modest home.

"Your little brother is a little brat Vanessa, you should get him trained." Said a voice from behind the girl, the old me.

"He didn't mean to, he thought you guys were being mean, I told him you weren't."

"Whatever, I've got to go, I wouldn't want to get fleas." The girl added, eyeing my attire with disgust as she turned away, her sandy brown hair blowing in the wind, my yellow ribbon in her hand as the other girls laughed following her. They were just moody today, it was how they acted to everybody.

PRESENT, ROYS POV

It was interesting to watch her whole demeanor change when the child came up to her, she smiled so freely, unlike her usual smile which was planned, strained, albeit lovely, but still fake. She got a distant look in her eyes, which became cloudy, guarded, and filled with pain.

I touched her arm when she suddenly widened her eyes and looked up at me, startled. Since the kidnapping she had been rather shaken up, understandably so.

"you looked pretty distant, wouldn't want word to get out that your human and not a robot." I said, grinning.

Her face hardened and she regained her composure, although she seemed more in control than she ahd been all day. Whatever she was thinking of must have brought her guard up again, causing me to sigh. Just when I thought I could break down this godforsaken barrier and have a more pleasant girl to watch after, she regressed. Just what was it that made her this spoiled, conceited, manipulative woman in the first place?

VANESSAS POV

I regained my composure after that brief slip up, composure was what protected me, it made me who I am, and its going to make sure that im never, ever taken advantage of like that again. Now I had the upper hand, I was in charge, and there was nobody who was going to take that away from me.

"I'm feeling a little drowsy, I think its time that I head home."

"Sounds good, oh and here." Roy said, handing me a stiff white envelope which I opened as gracefully as the seal would allow me to.

Inside was a formal invitation to the military ball, my planning had worked, even Clarisse's family hadn't gotten invited to this, and that made me smirk.

"Aw, thank you for hand delivering this, you're so sweet." I said, sugar and honey laced in my voice as my eyes remained cold.

I leaned up and kissed Roy on the cheek, the people walking by smiled at the display.

We linked arms and we walked back to his automobile, the drive actually filled with light conversation about who he knew was going to be at the ball, and I managed to discreetly get his favorite color out of him. I was going to be a vision at this ball, and he needed to know how lucky he was to have me on his arm. A man always seemed extra appreciative when a woman wore his favorite color, a childish question it may seem, it's definitely worth finding out.

He stopped at my mansion, and as I smoothed out my skirt, about to get out of the car, I looked over to say goodbye, when I felt him kiss me, my eyes were open, as were his, and I felt myself kiss him back, never one to back down. His lips were warm, though slightly chapped and I grinned as I pulled away. Without a word I winked back at him and exited the car, taking note of my butler in the front yard inspecting the holly and roses.

He nodded his head in recognition, looking back at the car failing to conceal the devious look in his eyes.

ROYS POV

I had hoped to get her shaken up, since she had surprised me earlier with the kiss on the cheek, which, no matter how innocent seemed to light a fire in my chest.

Rather than become flustered, the moment became somehow intimate, and I knew I had to watch myself. A woman like that can easily sway a mans opinion, and despite my curiosity and undeniable attraction to her, I couldn't be distracted. A person could easily lose themselves in her gaze. I needed to look more into her and her family.

UNKNOWN POV

I had watched her that day, interested in the going ons of her life, and curious as to whether she would pose a threat or not. What I saw surprised me, little and Roy mustang? How interesting this could be, she was of more use than I had originally thought, I could most definitely use this.

VANESSAS POV

That night, my dreams were a far more different experience than I had been hoping and praying for.

I was cold, and alone walking in a dark corridor, not even hearing the sound of my feet, just the distant sound of a clock ticking away, as seconds slipped away from my grasp and minutes seemed to drag on into hours. When suddenly I heard laughter, familiar, menacing laughter from all around as I glared around angrily, my feet firmly planted on the ground, I just knew that weakness would destroy me and I was to powerful for that.

"Get out the shadows you coward! Im not afraid of some miscreant like you!" I said, my voice filled with the strength I could feel slowly slipping away, my resolve shaking as the voice became louder and louder.

Then there he was, the man who kidnapped me, right beside me as he grabbed onto my shoulder with an iron grip, causing me to cry out angrily, trying to pull my arm away.

"look at little miss tough girl, I can think of when you weren't so tough, and you know what they say, you can take a girl out of the poor house, but you cant,"

"Shut up!" I yelled, ripping my arm from him, staring him straight in the eye.

"Oh, but don't you remember?" he whispered cruelly into my ear.

Suddenly we were standing in a small classroom, all the children walking out but one, with black hair and stormy grey blue eyes. She was carrying the chalk boards over to the closet as the teacher looked at her with pity, turning to whisper to the woman sitting next to her.

"Poor thing, I try to keep her distracted during recess."

"Why?" the other woman said, leaning in, watching as the girl walked to the next classroom to clean up the chalkboards.

"She has no friends, and the few girls she does talk to only humiliate her and tease her, its horrible to watch, and she goes with it. I've tried to build her confidence but she wont admit anything is wrong. If she would just come forward I could punish the girls, but then id have to punish the whole class, children are just so cruel."

"Isn't she a Brownwell? Poor thing, just the other day I watched her mother have to put all the food back on the counter because she couldn't afford to buy it. I offered to pay for some bread but she wouldn't have it."

"Stop it!" I cried, knowing what would happen next.

There was me, standing by the door, having heard the whole thing. My little eyes were welling up, and with that I ran out the door, and didn't stop running. All the children outside called after me, "Run away stupid!" "don't come back! We don't want your fleas!"

The teacher was correct, children could be unbelievably cruel, and that day I decided I would make them all wish they had been nice to me, they would all pay, and nobody would ever, every make fun of me again and get away with it. ever.

Suddenly I was awake, my maid had walked in and the sounds of footsteps had woken me up. I looked around wildly, and turned over in my bed away from her. Fighting back the tears, I would never spill tears over those jerks, they all became so nice when I became rich, and I just laughed at them all. Now they were sorry.

I fought the tears, and eventually won, never, would I cry, ever again.


	9. Chapter 9

SORRY I TOOK SO LONG WHEN I SAID ID UPDATE SOON,BUT ITS TIME FOR A DOSE OF REALITY. I HAVE TWO JOBS, MY MOM IS SICK SO I HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THINGS AT HOME, THINGS AE HECTIC, AND I REALLY DON'T HAVE AS MUCH TIME TO UPDATE AS I WISH I DID. BUT PLEASE, YOUR REVIEWS ARE WHAT KEEP ME COMING BACK TO UPDATE! PLEASE REVIEW, IT TAKES 30 FREAKING SECONDS, I LOVE YOU ALL ;)

The next two days were filled with organized chaos and planning. At the moment I was seated comfortably at my vanity, my maid combing through my thick black hair, prepping it before arranging it in an elegant half up, half down style that was sure to frame my cheekbones beautifully. My eyes looked to be a stormy blue rather than the usual mix of blue grey I had became accustomed to, but it looked exotic and would go well with the dress I had chosen for the night. My eyes drifted of the two attendants who were gently pulling the soft, airy gown out of the dress bag. It was a beautiful gown, in Roy's favorite color.

It was red chiffon, and had no straps, which was rather risqué in the first place, but the rest of the dress remained conservative enough to only raise eyebrows rather than receive callous looks of disapproval. I had carefully watched over it being put together, observed every stitch and was careful with choosing the shade of red. it was a dark brick red, and the strapless sweetheart neckline combined with it made an elegant statement. The style of dress was meant to hug my curves, yet not emphasize them.

I stood up graciously and allowed the attendants to help me into the dress and zip it up, eagerly awaiting to see myself in the mirror.

"All done miss, you look so lovely." I heard the attendant, Penelope say, a content smile on her face, and a dreamy faraway look in her eyes.

I took a long look in the mirror, and couldn't contain the genuine smile that graced my face. The red made my lightly tan skin appear to glow, and the soft fabric was lightly blowing just from the breeze coming in from the window, which carried with it the scent of fresh cut grass and roses. The fabric wrapped around itself from the bust to my hips where it was allowed to cascade to my feet, it looked enchanting. I felt radiant, untouchable, powerful, and there was nobody who could tear me down from this, while in this dress.

The color made me think of Roy, and I permitted myself to let out an inaudible sigh as I thought back to the car ride with Roy, and how his kiss ignited emotions and feelings that had never been aroused in me before. It was restrained, but I could feel the passion that had been swelling up between us even know, as I stood in the middle of my room.

When I realized my attendants were watching me carefully, I coughed and extended my arm expectantly with a raised eyebrow, as Penelope curtsied quickly and handed me my black patent leather clutch with lace detailing on the corners.

I then took my leave and left my room, walking briskly towards the stairs, butterflies filling my stomach as I lightly gripped the railing and inverted my body towards the banister, as was necessary to walk properly in the black strappy heels I had donned for this evening. I descended the stairs quickly, feeling the chiffon flow behind me.

I heard my mother gasp in appreciation as she saw me come closer, my fathers eyes widened and I could feel my sisters gaze, it was torn between appreciation and resentment. Which caused my smirk to widen; she took such pleasure in receiving much of the attention when we were growing up because of her being oldest and lovely while I was still a duckling, that it filled me with contentment at outshining her.

But then I saw a face I hadn't been expecting to see, watching me with hungry eyes, and familiar lips.

"Roy? I thought I was meeting you there. I see you couldn't wait to see me." I said, attempting to shield my shock, as I gazed at him, very appreciatively. He was tall dark and handsome in a black tuxedo, a blood red tie and his hair casting a shadow over his eyes. I could feel the tension in the air, the passion and lust swirling around us, separating us from the rest of the people in the room, who were watching us.

"I couldn't allow my date to arrive unattended, what kind of man did you take me for Vanessa?" he said, extending a hand to me as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

I took it and felt my hand heat up with electricity as I pulled myself into him and kissed him on the cheek, my body pressed to his, enjoying the animalistic feelings I was having, and the non lady like thoughts that were coursing through my mind.

I collected myself, as Roy said goodbye to my family and escorted me out to his course, arms linked together, as though we couldn't stand a moment of space from each other.

But I composed myself, tonight was for business and advancement. I would need to keep an eye out for anyone who could potentially fund my father's next business venture, a winery in the outskirts of central. It was my idea; it would mean paying less for shipping our very unique wine to the local wine shops, the savings that could be used to buy out some of the competition in one of the neighboring cities.

"You look very enticing tonight." I felt Roy whisper heatedly in my ear as his chauffer pulled away from the curb, and it took all of my composure not to give in to his seduction, this was not real. He needed me to advance, I needed him for social and economic security in the future. He would not ruin our bargain, he needed to be put back into his place, before things got to be out of hand.

I leaned back into the plush leather seat and looked into Roys eyes with a very enticing grin as I placed my hand daringly onto his knee, and leaned into his ear as I whispered huskily, "not as yummy as you darling." I then leaned away, staring seductively at him as I slid my hand up from his knee, and when I reached the middle of his thigh reached up and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, winking as I crossed my legs and gazed out the window, elongating my neck and giving him a good look at my profile. I could feel him edging closer, but the car stopped and we found ourselves in front of the grand hall where the ball was to be held.

His driver swiftly exited and opened the door, I took his hand and glided out of the car, shoulders back and chin held high, looking everyone who stopped to stare directly in the eye. I was the conductor tonight, and this was my orchestra.

Roy stepped out behind me, and held my around the waist, eyeing everyone around us carefully, the warmth of his hand adding to my confidence.

"Smile love, you need to play nicely with this crowd if you ever wish to move up. Be cordial, smile, and feel free to imagine them being attacked by monsters in your mind. I said, placing my hand on his and smiling pleasantly at a photographer who stopped to get our photo.

"That's easy for you to say, you were born to be a manipulative succubus." He grumbled, attempting a smile but only managing a strained smirk, which im sure looked well in the photo as I felt rather successful in putting him in his place back in the car. I would always hold the upper hand, that was simply how things were and how they would stay. I would make sure of it

We made our way inside, and took a tour of the room together, I introduced him to some wealthy family friends, and he introduced me to well off high ranking officers. By the time the band began to play, Roy and I had the room under our spell. It was almost too easy, so I put a guard up and laced my words with more honey than my mothers' morning tea as I spoke quickly with the current Fhurer's wife and friends. But I had a moment of my guards being down as I was introduced to the Fullmetal alchemist and watched the small child banter loudly with Roy.

It appeared Roy wanted to continue where I had left off in the car, as he then escorted me to the center of the room and pulled my close, hand above my derriere, and led me in a dance, as everyone was just entering and had yet to dance, making us center of attention. Just the way I preferred it. The music spoke to me, and the heat that had been building up between mustang and I was leading us into a very sultry dance.

Our bodies touched, and as the music quickened we followed, the friction of the movements was amazing and as Roy dipped me, I observed that we had captured the eyes of everyone in the room. The dance was clearly filled with mutual animalistic lust and passion and it seemed to be affecting everyone in the room with every twirl and touch. The dance ended as I lifted my right leg and wrapped it around his torso as he took a step back with his left.

The sound of applause was nearly deafening as he and I took our gracious leave of the dance floor, filled with mirth from the overwhelming physical need for each other.

UNKOWN POV

The pair really knew how to please a crowd, that was entirely certain, but they were much too transparent. It would appear to untrained eyes that this was just the showing off of a mutually attractive young couple courting each other. But the looks on their faces were clearly filled with an emotion more human than animal. And this was exactly what I had been hoping to see.

"This will be almost too easy."

VANESSAS POV

We smiled at those who complimented our dance, when my eyes caught the questioning gaze of a very familiar face in the crowd.

I excused myself from Roy and made my way over to the man in the crowd maintaining eye contact with a familiar pair of grey-blue eyes, maneuvering skillfully through the crowds as people finally began to dance the night away.

"Well hello Joseph, nice to see you." I said as my eyes filled with contempt, betraying the cordial tone in my voice. It was his fault I had been assaulted and kidnapped by that insane creature, and I needed to have answers. Now.

"Hello sister, always a pleasure." He said, clearly nervous as he ran a hand quickly through his hair, obviously aware of the anger I was close to forcing upon him the second we had a moments peace quiet together. He would inform me as to what was going on, and he was going to now, without a fuss. He owed me that much at least.

OOOO I WONDER WHAT IT IS! SERIOUSLY…I AM WONDERING…I DON'T WRITE WITH A PLAN…I HAVE NO IDEA WHATS IN STORE BUT IT WILL BE COOL! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! TELL ME WHAT U LIKE, DISLIKE, WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE, WHAT YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE, OTHERWISE WITH MY HECTIC SCHEDULE ILL HAVE TO UPDATE A DIFF STORY RAHTER THAN THIS ONE NEXT TIME I HAVE SPARE TIME. THANKYOU, HOPE YOU ALL LIKED THE PASSION IN THE ONE ;) I THOUGHT SHE NEEDED TO BE HUMANIZED.


	10. Chapter 10

SINCE I AM THE NICE ALL KNOWING AUTHOR AND I CANT SLEEP, I WILL UPDATE THANKS TO THE TWO AWESOME PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED, I HEART YOU BOTH, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! SO HERE YOU GO, IM HOPING FOR THREE REVIEWS BEFORE I UPDATE AGAIN, SO LETS MAKE THAT 8 A 10! UNTIL THEN I WILL BE PLOTTING…..

I could feel the old me attempting to convince my hands to reach out and put my little disaster causing brother into a headlock and lock him in the first closet I could find, but that might ruin my dress, and worse, cause an unnecessary scene. So instead I escorted him to a far corner of the ballroom, smiling serenely at each person that I passed, I may be upset but I wasn't going to display a lack of decorum at an event such as this.

Once we reached the destination I coolly turned around to face my brother, eyeing him testily, squaring my shoulders and standing at my full height, which put me at eye level with him. He bore a stronger resemblance to me than my darling older sister who took after our mother. We both had the same stormy eyes colored almond shaped eyes, strong jaw, lean build, and tan skin. But he did have our mother's fair hair, as well as her thin lips and shy demeanor.

He shifted uneasily under my intense scrutiny, when finally I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose and placing my other hand on my hip as I felt my anger begin to dissipate. This was my only brother, the one who always tried to defend me, to rescue me. But then I remembered, he didn't rescue me this time, I did, and he was the reason for it. So I regained composure, and jabbed him in the chest with my pointer finger as I began my lecture.

"you had better have an amazingly important reason for recklessly managing to involve me in your ridiculous military affairs Joseph. Just what, could possibly be so important that I had to be dragged into this?" I demanded him, jabbing him with each new sentence.

He grabbed my hand and looked earnestly into my eyes as he tried to explain himself, "I honestly cant tell you sister, its completely confidential and if I told you I could get into a lot of trouble." He said, pleading with his eyes.

I simply wouldn't have it.

"I don't care, I was attacked, it had to do with you, and you will tell me right now what is going on in the military." I said, pulling my hand from his grip, relaxing my expression and smiling softly at Roy as he looked up at me from that Full Metal child, what was a kid doing here in the first place?

"Fine, but you can't tell anyone. You were taken by what is known as a homunculi's, I was part of the investigation team in charge of finding out how these creatures function, and how they are created. Mustang is the one who assembled the team under very secret circumstances; the higher ups don't even know what we are up to. According to Mustang, we cant even trust them any more, but when the team found some, sensitive information about a possible location for the homunculi, and found out how they could be created, the team began to disappear, or, after a family member was threatened, they would back out and pretend to have no memory of any of the research. I thought that with all of dads contacts and money and security I would be safe so I continued, I dropped out after you were captured." I stared at Joseph, unmoving and contemplating everything he said.

"You backed out? How dare you refer to yourself as a Brownwell, let alone my brother? Our family does not cave in to the maniacal demands of freaks, you will re join the investigation, you will conduct yourself carefully, and you will return to the safety of our home. I will make sure that Roy provides you with full protection. You had better remember who you are, we are not cowards, we are survivors." I said this all without faltering, I was even shocked slightly at how harsh I was speaking to him.

All he could do was watch, as I swiftly made my way back to Roy at the other end of the hall.

"Well that looked rather intense." Roy said, his voice lightening my mood, although my anger was still bubbling beneath the calm façade I was displaying.

The blonde child regarded me coldly, and it irked me. How dare he judge me, I didn't know this brat and he was giving me a stare that made me seethe.

"Hello Full Metal, I hope you and your brother are well." I said, regarding him carefully, not sinking down to his level with petty glaring.

"We are thank you, I don't mean to be rude, but why exactly are so cold and defensive? Your brother looks petrified." He said, his voice level and cool, still eyeing me with that, that look!

"That is none of your concern Elric, and as for your judgment of me, that is also none of your business and I suggest you stop glaring at me so openly. This is a small city, I wouldn't want you to become blacklisted." I said, taking Roy's arm and walking over to where there were refreshments waiting to be consumed.

"Well that went well." He said sarcastically, referring to the meeting of me and the young alchemist.

"The brat was giving me a very rude look, and I won't tolerate that sort of disrespect from somebody who doesn't even reach my shoulder." I said, coldly still seething. How dare that child ruin my night.

Roy smirked, but still sighed and gave me a look I could just barely discern, a look of pity.

"Honestly Vanessa, he's right, what happened to turn you into such a distant, guarded, cruel person? At the park, you seemed to be relaxing, that child, you gave him a look of such warmth, and compassion. What happened to you?"

I looked up at him, completely shocked, what had happened to our agreement? This was to be purely business, and from what I had gathered he was sickened by my personality, but lately he had been growing on me, trying to get close to me, what happened? And why was everybody judging me?

"I want to go home Roy." I said, my wall was starting to break, and I was not going to be completely vulnerable in a room full of sharks.

Roy sighed, but he linked arms with me and together we made our way out of the Hall, and back outside where the moon was full and high in the sky, looking down at us, at me. I felt a tremendous weight on my shoulders and an enormous pressure in my chest. I was only trying to survive, I was strong and independent, cunning, yet everyone was judging me. Elric, Roy, I had seen their looks from others since moving to Central, my mother even looked at me with that sad, Pitying look from time to time and it crushed me more and more. I didn't want to be laughed at again, what was so wrong with that?

We made it to the car, and Roy held the door open as I slid in, cautiously knowing at the slightest jerky movement my wall, which had taken so many years to build and protect, would crumble at my feet and reveal what I truly was. A scared, lonely, angry child who just wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth something.

Roy sat next to me, and all he did was sit, not looking at me, and I was relieved. But then, he wrapped his arm around me, and when I looked up, he was giving me that look again, and suddenly we hit a bump in the road, and then it happened.

It shattered.

All the resolve I had been clinging to disappeared and suddenly I was sobbing, huge tremors rocked my shoulders as I pulled away from Roy, and leaned forward covering my face as I cried. I cried for myself, I cried for my family, I cried because I was weak. I had finally been broken, once again.

I felt a pair of strong hands pull me to the side and I felt myself in Roys lap, I was laying on the seat my face away from him, as I continued crying, unable to stop as he held my hand with one hand and kneaded my shoulder with the other. We drove around for most of the night, him not saying anything, and me just crying. We finally stopped, and I managed to suppress my sobs and see that was were at the park where Roy and I had watched the childs party. I looked at him questioningly as he signaled his driver to leave the car.

He turned me to him, and cupped my chin in his hand as he looked at me, a fierce look in his eyes.

"I don't know what happened to make you this way, and I don't understand why you need to have so many barriers to keep people out, but you have my word, if you let me in, let me get to know you, I will not give you any reason to block me out again." He said, his voice strong.

"Don't make such a silly promise, you hate me, you hate my guts. What you see, on a day to day basis that is me. Maybe it's a more guarded, more serious version, but what you see is what you get. I am determined, I am manipulative, I'm controlling, I'm moody, and I have no sympathy for weakness. Yes, I'm weak right now, but I will be strong again, don't you dare fucking pity me." I said harshly, wishing I could just go back to crying.

"I'm ok with that, because I know that you are real. You have fears like the rest of us, you can be hurt like the rest of us, you laugh, you cry, face it, your human. Get over it."

I just looked at him, questioningly. I wasn't sure where any of this was going, but I was willing to try it. After all, I was a Brownwell, and we never back down.

I felt something inside me give me a push, and with that I leaned forward, and kissed him. I released all my passion, my rage, my anguish, and in that moment, felt completely whole.

I could feel his arms wrap around me, and then pull away as his hands gripped my sides and pulled me onto his lap as we both finally connected and let our guards down. He wasn't so different from me, I knew that he was cocky; he was arrogant, and completely stubborn and sarcastic. But he was loyal, honest, and surprisingly funny.

I ran my hands through his hair, relishing the feeling of our bodies pressed together, our lips moving in harmony, and I pulled my hands down and cupped his face in my hands, ending the passion, and staring him in the eyes, both of us breathing heavily, both of us were vulnerable, both of us were emotionally naked, just looking at each other.

I could feel all my emotions running wild, and with some dread, and mostly shock and acceptance, I came to terms that this was somebody I could truly be open with, somebody I could become passionately in love with.

THANKYOU FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW! REMEMVER CHICKIES, 3 REVIEWS BEFORE THE NEXT CHAPTHER! LETS GET TO 11! XD


	11. Chapter 11

HEY EVERYONE! IM SO, SO SORRY THAT I HAVE TAKEN SO LONG TO UPDATE. THIS HAS BEEN AN OVERWHELMING YEAR FOR ME AND IM SUPER SUPER SORRY! AND I HOPE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND. BUT IM BACK NOW AND HAVE A NEW LAPTOP. HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY, AND PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! IT WILL REALLY EFFECT HOW QUICKLY I UPDATE. I NEED 2 REVIEWS TO CONTINUE!

I leaned my head down and rested my forehead on roys shoulder, relaxing my muscles and melting into him embrace, feeling the weight of the world slip off of my shoulders. I felt him wrap his arms around my waist and nuzzle his face into my now messed up hair.

We remained like this for a few more moments, when I remembered his driver was still outside in the cold, waiting to come back in.

I gently propped myself up and looked straight into roys eyes, unwavering and serene.

"Thank you." I murmured, squeezing his shoulder and sliding off of his lap.

"It was my pleasure." He replied, giving me an empathetic smile. This would have angered me before, but now, I could see why he was sad. I was even sad as well, I never let myself enjoy things, get close to people, have real friends. But, even with this knowledge, this demeanor I had created had gotten my family far, and it would take more than this epiphany to change my ways.

"You should let your driver in before he catches a cold Roy." I said casually, looking out the window at the poor man hugging himself for warmth right outside the door.

"Probably right." Roy said, knocking on the glass and indicating for the driver to get back inside.

The man got inside and quickly got the automobile into gear and sped off towards my mansion. The ride was silent, but comfortably so as I snuck glances over at Roy every block or so. I was confused, just where were we now? Before we were simply imitating a typical courtship, but what now? My mind was swirling, and I wasn't any more certain as to what was to happen when we finally arrived at my home.

The car came to a stop and I grabbed my clutch, and then looked up into Roy's eyes, searching for answers to my seemingly never ending questions.

"Tonight was, interesting. I hope to hear from you soon." I said quietly, using my signature smirk as I squeezed his hand and began to slowly get out of the car.

I heard Roy start to say something and turned around, eyeing him expectantly. He looked at me, his mouth agape, and simply grimaced, sinking back into the seat and giving me a small sideways wave, smirk safely in place.

I couldn't help myself from feeling slightly upset, but I inhaled sharply, and made my way past the gate and up to the massive oak doors that separated me from the warmth.

"I see you had a fun night." Came a very familiar voice to my right.

I quickly whipped my head around in shock and came face to face with my least favorite kidnapper, Envy the homunculi.

"You better leave now or I will scream." I demanded weakly, edging closer to the door and praying that Roy hadn't driven off yet and was seeing this, already on his way out the car to rescue me.

"Tsk tsk, that's not nice of you. Especially seeing as it's an empty threat." He chided, taking a step towards me as I pressed myself against the door, feeling my heart race against my chest.

"Well it's not an empty threat." I said stubbornly, feeling my resolve slipping away, trying to regain it before it was too late. He was dangerous, and given the chance he would most likely kill me without any sort of hesitation.

"No, you won't scream. You won't call for help; you're not going to do anything. I'm simply here checking in on my new little pet. Wouldn't want you getting hurt or forgetting who's in charge." He stated simply, insanity very evident in his eyes, causing me to pull back on my resolve and make sure he realized nobody but me was in charge. Nobody.

"I don't know who you think you are, but nobody is in charge of me. And I will not be harassed by some psychotic freak with bad hair." I said, and I quickly regretted it because the second I finished my speech he grabbed my shoulders and slammed me into the side of the house, knocking the wind right out of my lungs, and blurring my vision.

"I've been nice so far, but you need to learn not be so mouthy pet. And who do you think your kidding with this 'in charge' façade. You clearly aren't in control enough to see your being manipulated." He said, his face mere centimeters away from mine as my eyes widened in confusion at his statement, then narrowed in contempt.

"Nobody is controlling me but me." I growled fiercely.

"Oh really? That's not what it looked like tonight between you and your little mustang." He said smoothly, grinning maniacally at me, eyes glinting in the moon light.

Again he managed to catch me completely off guard with one simple sentence, and my mouth opened slightly as I thought back throughout the night. My heart was telling me to scream, to get away and trust that Roy would keep me safe.

But my heart hadn't gotten me anywhere in life, my brain was what had gotten my family and I this far and at the moment it was seeing sense in what Envy was implying, and was completely disagreeing with my heart. But I needed to see just what envy was trying to say with this whole display. I winced as Envy let go and I began to feel the sting of the scratches on my back, and grimaced at the thought of the bruises I would surely have in the morning.

"What are you getting at." I asked calmly, squaring my shoulders and eyeing him warily as he shifted his weight to one foot and crossed his arms over his chest, giving me a lopsided grin that was filled with pure malice.

"You're a smart girl my pet, don't tell me that you haven't caught on to the charade your dear 'lover boy' has been playing?"

ROYS POV

I couldn't go straight home after that whole scene, I was in desperate need of a drink. I slowly made my way through the bar and sat down at a table in the corner, eyeing the late night partiers and drunks with disinterest.

I kept replaying what happened in the car through my mind, still trying to process what had happened. I could still feel her fingers running through my hair, and the heat of her body pressed up against me as I held her in my arms.

Here I was getting way to close to a woman I swore id keep at arm's length, and I was not regretting it in the least. She was like a child really, playing pretend in a grown up world. She had been left to her own devices that she truly believed she was this image she displayed to the rest of the world.

The waitress brought me a beer and lingered, waiting for acknowledgment before walking away in a huff, but I hardly noticed. As I took a swig I imagined what Vanessa was doing right now.

She was probably already dressed for bed, most likely wearing something expensive and soft, probably silk. I could see her sprawling out, stretching and trying to get comfortable. I could feel an ache at not being with her, wanting to grab her again and go back to where we left off in the car.

But then I thought back to the ball, and watching her talk with her brother in hushed tones, eyes flashing. Just what had he told her? If she knew too much and let on the Envy what the team had discovered they would all be in trouble. If that damn homunculi found out anything the rest of them would find out and all the work that had been accomplished would be for nothing.

I would need to check in with joseph in the morning and interrogate him. Depending on what he told me, I might have to get fullmetal involved. His experience with these creatures exceeded any of the other officers. He and Vanessa seemed to have a miraculous ability to find trouble.

Again, I was thinking of Vanessa. How she managed to do this to me was a mystery. Correction, she was a mystery. And she probably knew she was too. But the emotion she showed in the car, the anguish she released, she needed somebody. And at that moment, I decided that somebody would be me. It was up to me to protect, her, whether she wanted it or not.

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	12. Chapter 12

Ok, I am baaaaaack! No excuses, I was honestly lazy, but atleast im being honest! Anyways here you go, the next installment!

ENVYS POV

Watching my pet stand there with fear in her eyes, there was no sight more delicious in the world, or at least none that I could imagine right now. There was a light scent of blood in the air, most likely from her tragic collision with the wall, how lovely she sounded, gasping in pain. And now, she was eating out of the palm of my hand, I had her trained so quickly.

VANESSA POV

I was trying to think about what Roy could possibly need me for, and slowly, pieces of the puzzle began to painfully fit together. Joseph said, that he was needed for some mystery project, something to do with the homunculi, but he couldn't tell me what. Roy was in charge, most likely needing to get his hands on a live one to properly test whatever they were working on. Was I bait? No, Roy and I had this agreement before Envy had captured me. No, there was something bigger going on, I could feel it.

"Still cant figure it out my pet?"

"If its so obvious, why don't you let me in on it, since you apparently know everything." I said scathingly, taking note of just how much my knees were trembling.

"Oh dear, I thought you were smarter than this. Haven't you noticed the difference between you and your family? How, you barely fit in with the rest of them?"

"I take after my father." I said calmly, feeling much more relaxed now that this was clearly going no where of consequence.

"poor child, take a closer look." He said huskily, stepping forward, closing the space between us, as my mind became hazy, filling with memories long forgotten.

"ill take my leave, but I encourage you to think about things a little more closely my pet."

And with that, I heard him leave, as I slowly sat down on the gravel, feeling a strange tingling sensation all over my body.

Each time I closed my eyes, all I could see was darkness, all I could feel was a sense of being lost, alone, and hungry. Always hungry. But in the darkness, there were others, I could feel it.

But I opened my eyes, fearing what else I would see.

This couldn't be happening, Envy was just trying to get inside of my head, trying to manipulate me, use me, and I wasn't going to tolerate it. I pulled myself up with the doorknob, and meekly rang the doorbell. I heard it ring throughout the house, and hoped somebody would answer quickly, I desperately needed a hot bath to calm my nerves.

"Hello miss, welcome home. Oh dear, are you all right?" came a soft voice from the door.

I looked into the eyes of a maid, whose name I couldn't bother to remember.

"I'm fine." I answered brusquely, lifting my head high and sauntering into the manor as quickly as my legs would carry me. I made my way to my room, while hardly paying any mind to the servants I was passing. I sighed with relief when I saw the familiar door that led to my room, and reached out for the handle and rushed inside, feeling a sense of calm wash over me as I closed the door, separating me from the rest of the world. I leaned against the door, and closed my eyes quickly, only to see the darkness again. My eyes flew open, and I looked around the room quickly, making sure that I was truly alone.

I pushed myself away from the door and staggered to the bathroom, grimacing as the white tile nearly blinded me. From there on it was as though I were a puppet, merely going through the motions, but the tub was soon filled with water and lavender bubble bath. I slowly peeled off my dress, angling my head to see how my back looked. There clear as day was the beginnings of a bruise on my left shoulder blade, and a series of small scratches by my neck from the wall. Looking down, bruises on both arms from where Envy had held me. As I saw them, a sudden realization hit me, it wasn't envy himself who frightened me, rather, a small part of me was excited, at this new force in my life, a force with the ability to take charge, and relieve me from having to be the 'head honcho' so to speak. I feared though, what could happen if I were to get used to this, I feared what information he could tell me, I feared the unknown, and he was definitely unknown.

As I was thinking, I slowly got into the steaming water, sighing as the heat began to unravel my very tense muscles, and inhaled the scent of vanilla that was heavy in the air.

But at the same time, while Envy was a force in my life, Roy had became a sort of life jacket, one that had no straps and needed to be held on to. He was helping me, but at the same time I had a sense that with one wrong move he could be gone, and that was something that terrified me, and that terror, it worried me.

But, alas, this was all trivial. What could envy possibly be talking about? I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes, drowning in a sea of darkness, but now, I could feel others, others, who were like me, all moving around unseen, feeling lost, and so alone. So very alone.

I felt light, as if I weighed nothing, and suddenly I was somewhere else, I was still in the darkness, but somehow, it felt more real. Looking around, I could now see eyes everywhere, all looking around hungrily. I began to go further, I didn't know why, but I felt I could discover what I was feeling.

Suddenly, it was as though a thousand spiders were crawling up my back, somebody was behind me, somebody could see me when none of the eyes could. But I wasn't afraid. I turned around, and I simply knew. There in the darkness I could see the truth, there within two large red eyes, I knew everything. Images began to fly through my mind, I could see a bright white light, hands reaching in and grabbing around, as I reached up hungrily, I wanted these hands, I needed them. They had entered here and were mine. Suddenly I was in a white room, a baby lay still on a table. Next, I was looking to the ceiling, I felt heavy, this wasn't right, this was strange, where was I? soon hands were holding me, men in masks grinning down at me, success was in the air.

Before I could see more, everything was gone, I was choking.

"Vanessa! Vanessa can you hear me! Please wake up." Came a loud voice from above, me, most likely coming from whoever was gripping my shoulders.

Mother?

I opened my eyes, only to feel a sharp sting, as the soap began to attack my eyes. I felt somebody wipe my face, as I began to feel heavy again, the light, floaty feeling was gone and I was heavy tide down.

I opened my eyes, and I could see clearly, I looked around, and found the face of my mother, who was pale and shaking.

She looked up from the rag and looked into my eyes, and instantly fear was swimming within them, and her mouth opened in shock.

"I know the truth."

WHOA, WHAT HAPPENED THERE? I ADMIT THAT THIS WAS ALL A LAST MINUTE THING, I DID NOT THINK I WAS GOING TO GO THIS ROUTE BUT PLEASE IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOUD LIKE TO ADD, REVIEW! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!


	13. Chapter 13

My mother was quiet, and didn't speak, she just held me tighter and looked deep into my eyes, with a questioning look as though this was all foreign to her.

"I'm quite sure that you heard me, but I suppose I will reiterate. I know the truth about you, about me, and where I came from. Now the only question is, will you be the one to fill me in on the why's?" I said coldly, jaw hardened as I watched my mother's face contort in confusion, then to realization, and finally, remorse.

As I waited for her answer, all I could feel were those spiders, and I couldn't shake the image of all those eyes, all of them, so hungry, and needy.

"Darling, I wish I could tell you. But, all you need to know, is that you were a true blessing, your father and I love you, please forget all of this, it's all in the past." She pleaded, still holding me in her arms, though now her shaking was over and she was eerily still. Looking up into her eyes, she was no longer looking at me, but instead was looking into space, a solemn expression in her face where it had never been before.

"I've been lied to, and I do not appreciate lies, even from my mother. Now, all I'm asking for is some answers to my questions." As I said this, I could feel my chest tighten as I could feel the pain I was putting her through.

"You have to believe me when I tell you, I don't know anything, and neither does your father. You, you were given to us when you were a baby. You had purple eyes back then, but the people who gave you to us, they fed you something and your eyes changed." I could see the desperation in her eyes, and I couldn't keep prying, I couldn't do this to her, I wasn't that cruel. But I was angry, and I was going to get the answers I desired. What was that place, why was I there, and who took me from it. But what I do know, I was an entity of sorts, I was not of this world, and I was placed into the body of a still born child. I needed to know who it was that had done this, and why. What was the purpose? Had I been some sort of sick alchemic experiment that didn't go right and was therefore dumped onto some poor family?

I closed my eyes and relaxed into my mother's embrace, although I was entirely sure she hadn't birthed me, she had raised me, hugged me, given me love, she was my mother, forever and always.

"I'm sorry mother." I murmered into her chest.

I could feel her hug me into her chest, as her embrace tightened. But as I began to shiver from the cold, she helped me up and got me into a silk robe and walked me to my bed. I mechanically slid into to the bed and under the covers, feeling the warmth of the comforter envelope me and I was greatly appreciative.

As I laid there, my mother sat with me, running her fingers through my hair, humming quietly to myself, and before I knew it, my eyes had closed and I was finally asleep, in a world where I could escape my troubles and live as I pleased.

But sometimes, even your dreams cant save you from reality, and instead, pulls you in deeper and deeper.

OKAY, THIS IS SUPER SHORT BUT I CAN EXPLAIN, I AM TIRED, HAVE SEVERE WRITERS BLOCK, I HAVE PHYSICAL THERAPY AND DOCTORS APPS EVERY FRIGGEN DAY, BUT I HOPE THIS CLARIFIES SOME THINGS, AND HELPS SOME OF YOU REACH A CONCLUSION ;) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW, ITS SERIOUSLY GREAT MOTIVATIONS, SPECIAL THANKS TO ZORORENJILOVER, WITHOUT THOSE REVIEWS AND MESSAGES I WOULD NOT HAVE UPDATED AND PROLLY WOULD HAVE TAKEN ANOTHER 2 YEAR HIATUS FROM FANFICTION!


	14. Chapter 14

Im so sorry I disappeared my lovelies, I overestimated my abilities to do AP, IB, physical therapy, prep for college, work, and write fanfiction. I mean, who knew that something would have to go in order to pass my classes? But yeah, in college now…my time is getting eaten up.. the life of a science major is not an easy one… but yeah, I never wrote down how I wanted this story to go, I completely forgot where I was going with this, so im going to wing it. Hope you can appreciate my attempt at wanting to please you all and give you a proper ending!

That night I dreamt of darkness. It was all around me, nobody where I went, or how long I was there, that was all that I could see. There were others, I could feel their hunger, their frustration, their lust for what they didn't have. This was where I was from, I knew I was not normal, that I wasn't like everyone else, and as these memories of a place long forgotten returned, tidbits of memories, faded like old film were popping up. When mothers garden was dying, I cried because it meant we wouldn't eat, but as I fell and pounded my fists into the soil, the garden grew, and our tomatoes ripened before my eyes. The image was grainy, and felt surreal, but I knew it was true, that I had happened. I was sure there were more, but I was drained, emotionally, mentally, and physically.

I woke to the sun pouring in from the windows, there were no clouds in the sky so the light was unfiltered. I groaned, feeling pain shoot through my back to my neck as I shifted, trying to shield my eyes from the light. i forced myself up into a seated position, and vaguely recognized the form of my mother laying across my bed. I hadn't realized she never left last night, and I thought briefly of the pain in her eyes as she couldn't explain to me where I had come from. But I knew my father, there was no way he didn't know more. He was a naturally suspicious person, much like me, he wouldn't accept a child with strange eyes from strange people for nothing, especially when he could barely support him my mother and my sister. He had to know, and at this moment, that was the only thing that I was actually certain of. I could feel it in my bones, either that or I was more injured than I thought, but I was quite certain my intuition was leading me in the right direction.

I pushed myself off of the bed, cringing when my feet hit the cold floor, crossed over to my wardrobe and pulled out a purple shift dress that hit a few inches above the knee. I slowly slid out of my nightie and dressed myself, almost forgoing my heels nearly opting for my sheepskin slippers, but even in this time of desperation and depression, I couldn't put down my guard. Today wa going to be a difficult day, and I when I was properly dressed and prepared, I felt powerful, invincible, like I could take on anything, despite what I was facing. I slipped into my black patent leather kitten heels, and wore a simple silver chain with a black pearl pendant hanging from it. I combed my hair, cleaned my face, not bothering with makeup. I didn't need it today, makeup softened my features, which when left alone were striking and could pierce into somebodies soul. I needed that today, I needed answers, and I would use all of my assets to get them.

I looked back over to my mother, sleeping soundly, breathing evenly and safe from the world. In a moment of compassion I pulled a sheet over her, and drew the curtains closed. In those few moments, I saw just how tired my mother really was. Her skin was sallow, and her arms were frail, she had been so strong all these years, I had grown to look at her with disdain, hating her for drawing away from me. But who could blame her? I wasn't her child, she owed nothing to me. She was probably afraid, intimidated by me just like everybody else was in this city.

I left my room, quietly closing the door behind me, and headed to where I knew my father would be. His study was on the opposite end of the hall, directly across from mine. When I got there, the door was open, and I leaned against the frame, looking in. the room was decorated in shades of dark green, all the fixtures were a dark oak. And there at his desk, glasses on and hair neatly combed was my father.

He looked up as I knocked quietly on the door, and smiled happily at me, gesturing for me to sit down.

"Well you are up early Vanessa, I dare say this is the earliest I have ever seen you up since we have been in central." He said calmly, leaning back into his chair as I gingerly sat down on the couch adjacent to his desk against the wall.

"dad, I know the truth. Im not really your daughter, you got me from somewhere, and I need to know the truth. Things have been happening, and I need answers. I cant go around thinking I have nothing to do with josephs research, that there isn't a reason the homunculi captured me in the first place. I have a hard time believing theyd take me just to get some information from a few military lab rats." I said all of this calmly, though it all blurted out before I had a chance to think. I had hoped to ease into it, to relish this time with my father before everything came crashing down around me, but I couldn't hold it in. it wasn't me, I was direct, and when I wanted answers I went out and I got them.

My fathers smile fell, and was replaced with a frown, and in that instant, he depicted a man truly regretful, remorseful for a lifetime of lying.

"I had a feeling this day would happen at some point, but I admit, I had forgotten that you were ever brought to us. But hear this, even if you were not of your mother and I, you are our daughter, and we are your parents. We love you, although at first I regretfully say I didn't think id ever love you. As a baby, there was a darkness about you. Everything you touched changed. We gave you hand me down toys that had belonged to Brittany, and in a flash of light they would be something different. We thought it was magic. But the men who brought you to us, they explained it was more complex that that. It was alchemy. These men were from the military, some section that Ive never heard of, I know that they were directed by a man known as the sewing life alchemist at the time. I don't quite understand what they were doing or why when you were created, but from what I understand, there is a gate. From it comes the energy where all alchemy is made possible, there were rumors that people who had been through the gate could perform miracles, perform alchemy without a circle. They thought from what I understand, that if they got an entity directly from the other side, they could create a being that could avoid all the laws of, oh what was it, ah, equivalent exchange. That by using you, instead of some rock they kept rambling about, that they could create say, gold from grass, or bring people to life, but it didn't work. As a baby you could transmute things, but even you weren't able to break the rules. The men who brought you to us, were supposed to kill you. But I suppose they had a change of heart, and couldn't bring themselves to do it, and they brought you to us, away from the city, hoping you could grow up, live a normal life, and they could move on from this failed experiment. That's all I know, it may not be the whole truth, but it's my truth. I hope you can forgive your mother and I for lying to you all these years. we had hoped that you would be a normal happy child. You were happy, but you were never normal. Even as a small girl, you were extremely intelligent, easily bored, and you could sway anyone with a few words, or a meaningful stare. But I love you, and because of you, we are here, we are powerful, and happy." And with that, he sighed, and leaned forward with his hands clasped in his lap, eyes staring at me, with too much emotion to read.

I sat there, processing, I knew that what he said was right, i knew If I focused, I could recall memories of my childhood, of my being an infant. Being not of this earth, I wasn't bound by the rules here. My brain was developed enough to remember everything. Would Roy know anything of this? No, he couldn't, he was only a few years older than me, maybe 6? Even if he were 10 years older than me he wouldn't have been involved with the military at that time. Although there was the possibility that there were files documenting the experiment and he as well as others may be aware of my existence. But, if the men were told to dispose of me, that would have been in the records too and nobody would know I was alive, and my eyes were now blue, not purple. Roy couldn't know, but how did envy know, that was more dangerous. I didn't know what to think of all of this, but then I thought, why wasn't I able to do alchemy any more? There had been a time when I was a teenager and we first moved here, I saw state alchemists perform alchemy, and I wanted to learn it. I drew circles, I tried without them, I wasn't able. Perhaps the ability left me, from what I remember, I was a bodiless soul, placed into the body of an infant. Perhaps my soul bonded with the soul of the child and as time went on and I developed and grew, I 'outgrew' my ability to perform alchemy. Even to the point that a circle wouldn't help me.

"Vanessa? Are you alright?"

"Yes father, I'm fine, just taken aback I suppose. That was a lot to take in. are you sure you don't remember anything else?" I pleaded, surprised at how collected I was.

"I don't believe so. Well, after those men left us, a woman came by, she was interested in you, I thought she had been part of the team, and wanted to take you back. But she gave us some stones, and told us that if you were to survive, you had to eat them. So we gave them to you. Your eyes changed color, and you changed. You ahd been a very calm, inactive child. Suddenly, it was like you were a typical baby, and you started growing and crying and just became, normal. But I'm afraid that's all that I can remember love."

"thankyou daddy. I need to go think." I murmured as I stood to leave.

"Vanessa, please know I do love you, you are my daughter, and nothing will ever change that.:

"I know dad. I know."

And with that I walked out, and found myself speeding towards the door, and out the house onto the sidewalk in the direction of the park. I remembered when we first moved here, I spent a lot of time in the park. Thinking, planning, adjusting. Before I knew it I was deep in the park, sitting on a bench, staring into space.

Everything made sense, but I felt, the same. I didn't feel any different, I had thought that once I knew everything, had answers, I would feel something. But nothing changed, I was still a wealthy heiress living in central, dating Roy mustang, for real or for pretend I still wasn't sure, and I was still me. Nothing was different, and for some reason, that bothered me.

"never thought you were the kind to sit around and enjoy nature." Said a voice to my right.

I looked over and saw the fullmetal alchemist sitting next to me, looking ahead into the distance.

"theres a lot you wouldn't think id do. Or think. But you don't know me kid, sorry to mess with your preconceived ideas about me." I said back, reclining onto the bench.

"jeez, I was just making small talk, no need to bite my head off."

"well at the ball you made it very clear you didn't like me, you had a made a judgement, I assumed you were sticking with it."

"sorry about that, I was in a shitty mood after Mustang made me go to that stupid thing."

I looked over to see if he was lying, but he had an earnest half smile, and I felt myself smile back at him.

"why did he make you go?"

"something about needing to make appearances, show me off to the superiors, get funding so I could work on my research." He said with a groan.

"that makes sense." I wondered what his research was, but I didn't feel it was my business.

"you look lost." He said, finally looking at me seriously.

"I am lost im afraid." I said, shocking myself. Why was I talking to this kid? Was I honestly about to spill my guts to him? Well, after all the rumors about him, maybe he would be able to give me more answers about where I came from.

"anything I can help you with? Is it mustang? Cause I can take care of him for ya." He said with a lopsided grin.

I smiled in return, appreciating that somebody who barely knew me, actually cared about me and my feelings.

"its alright fullmetal, nothing I cant handle."

"you can call me Edward, Im afraid ive gotta go, I hope you find your way." And with that, he headed off, and a small part of me felt lighter. I wasn't alone, I wasn't different, I could go on with life the way I had planned.

ENVYS POV

I saw the fullmetal brat walk away, and watched a smile grow on my pets face. This wasn't making sense, she should be devastated, paranoid, angry, why was she so calm? Humans, even if they were only part human, were so strange. But I couldn't stay here, I had things to attend to. Lust was in the area, and tonight she would make her move.

ALRIGHT CHICKIES! AND THAT IS THE END OF THIS INSTALLMENT! MAINLY BECAUSE I RAN OUT OF INSPIRATION….. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! OTHERWISE ILL IGNORE THIS STORY AND UPDATE MY OTHER ONES ^_^ BUT HOPE YOU ENJOY!


	15. Chapter 15

Hey guys, I had originally hoped to end this chapter after 15, but it looks like I might have to forget that dream…. Please review, this story is one of my favorites, its my most precious baby, and your feedback makes it worth while! Please please review! Id love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

The rest of my day was spent coming to terms with the information about my past. I had my father check into the military to see if there were any records of what had transpired, but apparently the fire at the Central Library wiped out everything, and the area where those records had been sealed was in a particularly guarded area, and only the fhurer and select others had ever had access to it. I knew better than to try my luck with the fhurer, I knew that while we had influence, we were not that important.

I did manage to accumulate some information from texts my fathers secretary brought me, but in the end all the ideas I came up with were just that, ideas. I considered contacting the alchemist who had been in charge of the operation, but from what I could gleam he had disappeared, after some very strange activity at his home, and the disappearance of his daughter and dog.

This all seemed very convenient, but I knew better than to stick my nose into the militarys business, you didn't need to have any association with the military to know there was a lot going on currently, much more than was being let on to the public. Roy had been stressed, and distant, and there was a lot of distrust among the ranks, and these homunculi were causing serious problems. It wasn't even that important that I know anything, I knew I couldn't perform alchemy, with or without circles.

I would just have to adjust to the idea that I would never know why I was created, or who was in charge, I could live with that I suppose. After all, I should be grateful to have been given life.

I ended up falling asleep in my fathers study that night, dreams never visited, nor memories, I was enveloped in darkness.

When I awoke the next day, it was to the sound of voices downstairs. I sat up and straitened my clothes, and combed my fingers through my hair. I saw a my satin lavender robe folded on my fathers desk, most likely left by one of the servants. I grabbed it and put it on, heading down the stairs after realizing the voice that I was hearing was Roy.

I felt a flutter in my chest at the thought of seeing him and rushed down, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw his face. Normally graced with a smirk, and knowing look in his eyes, he was filled with despair.

"Roy?" I questioned, walking over to him with worry written all over my face.

The butler who had let him in walked out, and I led roy into the sitting room and sat down beside him on the loveseat.

"Roy? Whats wrong?" I asked, placing my hand on his, trying to look into his eyes. He was staring off into the distance, devoid of anything except sadness and loss.

"Hughes." He murmered, pain in his voice.

I recalled the name, and recalled a very smiley soldier, who id only met once or twice, he had shown me pictures of his wife and daughter. I was aware that he was Roys closest friend, and was concerned what could have happened, I knew he was crucial in Roys climbing ranks.

"what happened? Is he alright? Is his family ok?" I questioned, feeling my throat tighten as I watched pain fill roys face.

"he was killed. He knew valuable information, and he was murdered." He said, anger and pain being the only emotions I could detect.

My chest tightened and my eyes widened in horror, I knew that Roy was investigating something, and I assumed Hughes had been helping, the thought that this man was dead, leaving a wife and child alone in this world pained me. I didn't know him, but he had made me smile, and reminded me so much of my father, and the pain in Roys eyes was haunting, and I just wanted to make it go away.

"Do you know what he found out?" I managed to croak, surprising myself at my lack of composure. I mentally slapped myself, Roy didn't need a weak cry baby right now, he needed somebody strong to get him through this.

"even if I knew, I wouldn't be able to tell you, youre involved too much already." He said, his face hard, grabbing my hand with his.

"I understand, but im worried. Who was it? And can they get to you?" I questioned, hoping my voice sounded stronger to him than it did to me.

"homunculi." He breathed, squeezing my hand.

And with that, all the air left my lungs and I felt cold. I knew they were dangerous, a small part of me knew that they would kill anyone who got into their way, but I knew this person, this person was close to Roy, and he I knew was going to fight them, and I was afraid, afraid he would be killed too. I couldn't lose him, I would be alone again, and I couldn't have that.

He looked up to me, pain still in his eyes, and I knew he wasn't going to answer any of my questions. I was shocked to feel his lips on mine, and the emotion behind them. Anger, frustration, loss, despair, and so much pain. I just wanted to make it go away.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes, feeling tears escape and slide down my cheek. I released all of my fear into the kiss, and could feel the warmth of his body through my robe, as his hand grabbed my back and pulled me to him. If this was what he needed now, I would provide it.

We were locked in a passionate embrace for who knows how long, when he finally pulled away, breathing heavily, and I saw his eyes, he was tired, in pain, and suffering. I helped him lay down and held his head in my lap, slowly running my fingers through his hair. We said nothing, and nothing needed to be said, I knew he wouldn't cry, wouldn't scream, he was too prideful for that. I knew he would release his emotions when the time was right, when he was ready.

We sat there in silence for hours, until the sky was beginning to darken. With a grunt, he pulled himself up and straigtened out his uniform, pulled me up and kissed me once more before leaving, just like that. I stood there, stunned, and quickly rushed to the window, watching him rush to his car, and disappear into the evening.

"I see loverboy didn't take the news very well." I heard from behind me.

I grew cold and felt goosebumps along my arms as I spun around, envy reclining on the sofa across the room.

"how did you get in here." I demanded, composing myself as best I could.

"aw, we both know that's not important." He said, smirking at me from the shadows.

"fine. Tell me what you know about Hughes. Did you do it?" I questioned, hoping I wasn't shaking.

"im afraid not." He sighed, eyeing the room with distaste, and finally bringing his gaze back to me, and smiled maliciously. "don't you want to know about your past? Id have thought you'd be brimming with questions." He said leaning forward, elbows on his knees, grin growing.

"there is nothing I need to know, im here now and that's all that's important to me." I stated, faking composure and certainty.

"oh dear, and here I thought you would want to know what your original purpose was, I wondered how you would take it to know you were a failure." He said, watching my face carefully for any sign of weakness.

"perhaps the experiment didn't go as planned, but im not a failure." I nearly shouted, clenching my fists, but I could feel myself wavering, doubt passing through my mind.

"well, I know your birthday is coming up, so heres a present, know anything about the philosophers stone?" he asked.

I thought back to the research I had done the night before, and recalled something about a red stone that was supposed to grant some sort of power to any alchemist who used it. Something about equivilant exchange.

"it allows you to ignore the laws of equivilant exchange, but it doesn't exist, its simply a myth." I said, remembering as much as I could under the circumstances.

"good job pet, I see you've been doing some extra credit. Some scientists felt that they could get around the stone, and get power directly from the gate. Sadly, as it turns out, once pulled out and placed within a human vessel, you were completely useless." He said with a grin.

Useless. The word left a bad taste in my mouth, and I thought back to all the times my name had been in the same sentence as that word.

"perhaps I don't have power, but I'm far from useless." I whispered, using all of my strength to remain standing.

"you keep telling yourself that, but, I have good news. Those humans had no idea what they were doing, come with me and we can unlock your true potential." Envy said, getting up and walking over to me.

"no." I said firmly, backing away, tripping when I hit the loveseat and fell, looking up at envy, feeling fear fill me as his grin grew and became filled with malicious intent.

"well, I hope you don't come to regret this decision. If my friends and I cant use your assistance, we'll continue with the bosses plans, and I'd hate to think of how many more people will have to be hurt." He said, feigning sadness.

I knew I couldn't trust him, and I was well aware that either way, people would die, I would not leave Roy, he needed me.

"I wont regret this." I said, trying to keep my voice as strong as I could, eyeing Envy warily.

With that, he simply smirked and walked out of the room, I heard the door close behind him and released air and hadn't realized I had been holding my breathe, but at least I knew now why I had been created. It still didn't make a difference, my purpose in life now was clear, I was going to help Roy and Full Metal, and make sure these homunculi ceased to exist.

A/N this chapter was so hard, Ive always been particularly attached to hughes….i took his death very hard when I was watching this anime…please review! Reviews make me write chapters sooner and faster! And darn envy! Toying with Vanessa! Little sadist…. Im trying not to mess with the overall fma plot too much, hope you all can appreciate that, if not, lemme know and ill see what I can come up with!.


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